Animal actuated feed and water dispensing apparatus

Abstract

An animal feeding apparatus includes a bunk, or trough for receiving solid feed and water and animal actuated hopper means disposed over the trough. The water dispensing function is provided by a plurality of valves having operators to be actuated, preferably, by the snout of an animal and which are configured and disposed to inhibit actuation by the animal at such times as the level of liquid in the bunk exceeds a predetermined depth. The feed dispensing function is provided by the simultaneous actuation of an elongated agitator, disposed on one side wall of the hopper and in a dispensing slot in the bottom of the hopper, and a grate, disposed above the agitator and adjacent the slot and the opposite side wall of the hopper, by an agitator arm connected to the agitator and the grate, and extending downwardly into the bunk for actuation by an animal. The agitator and the grate are pivotable about a common axis to provide different radii of oscillation.

I claim: 
     
       1. Animal feeding apparatus comprising, in combination; a horizontal bunk, for receiving feed and water, disposed on a level surface for access by stock to be fed;   hopper means, including a generally sidewise opening, elongated feed conveying slot adjacent the bottom, and being disposed over said bunk so that feed, passing through said slot, is distributed into said bunk;   feed dispensing means, disposed in the slot in said hopper means, including elongated feed agitating and dispensing portions moveable through said feed conveying slot between positions inside and outside of said feed conveying slot and said hopper means;   actuating means operably connected to said feed dispensing means and including an operator arm extending downwardly into said bunk for operative engagement by the head of an animal; and   liquid dispensing means disposed on said hopper means adjacent said feed dispensing means   
     
     
       2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the liquids dispensing means includes an actuator arm and a shield ajdacent thereto for inhibiting the dispensing of liquids when the liquid in the bunk exceeds a predetermined level. 
     
     
       3. A self regulating demand feeder and waterer for hogs, comprising a watertight bunk for the dry feed and water and having a depth well in excess of the maximum depth to which the hogs will immerse their snouts in water,   a feed hopper above the bunk and having a mechanical means for dispensing feed from the hopper to drop down into the bunk, the mechanical means including a swingable operating lever extending downwardly into the bunk and causing dispensing of feed when swung by the snouts of the hogs feeding in the bunk,   and a water supply directing water into the bunk and having vertically adjustable control valve means for regulating the flow of water, the control valve means having a movable operator located in the bunk and extended toward the bottom thereof and being movable to produce the flow of water into the bunk and to be immersed in said water, the movable operator will be manipulated by the hogs with their snouts to supply water into the bunk along with the feed in the water until the depth of water exceeds the depth at which the hogs will comfortably immerse their snouts whereupon the flow of water will stop when manipulating of the movable operator is discontinued, thereby maintaining a desirable proportion of water and dry feed in the bunk.   
     
     
       4. The feeder and waterer for hogs according to claim 3 wherein the water supply includes pipe means and the control valve means extending downwardly into the bunk, the movable operator being disposed at the lower end portion of the valve means. 
     
     
       5. The feeder and waterer for hogs according to claim 4 and a rigid and stationary tube embracing the control valve means and having a lower end disposed immediately above said movable operator. 
     
     
       6. A self regulating demand feeder and waterer for hogs, comprising an elongate watertight bunk for the dry feed and water and having a top edge confining water against spilling and also having a bottom below said top edge and establishing a significant depth well in excess of the maximum depth to which hogs will immerse their snouts in water,   hog operated and regulated feed and water supplies respectively depositing feed and water into the bunk,   the water supply having a control valve with a movable operator located entirely in the bunk and adjacent the bottom thereof and being movable to produce flow of water into the bunk and to be immersed in the water, the water supply having a vertically disposed rigid shielding means extending downwardly into the bunk to a location below the top edge thereof and the shielding means having a vertically adjustable lower portion adjacent to and above the level of the movable operator and allowing access to the operator only from below the shielding means, and   the feed supply including a hopper above the bunk and having a discharge slot extending along the bunk and spaced above the bunk by a distance having the order of magnitude of several multiples of the depth of the bunk, there being open and unobstructed space below the discharge slot and below the slot and the adjacent edge of the bunk to permit the feed to free fall without confinement, and the feed supply having mechanical means for dispensing feed from the hopper and slot and including a swingable operating lever extending downwardly into the bunk to be operated by the hogs.   
     
     
       7. The self regulating demand feeder and waterer for hogs according to claim 6 and there being a plurality of operating levers and movable operators spaced from each other along the length of the bunk. 
     
     
       8. The self regulating demand feeder and waterer for hogs according to claim 7 and the operating levers being disposed between adjacent movable operators. 
     
     
       9. A self regulating demand feeder and waterer for hogs, comprising an elongate watertight bunk for the dry feed and water and having a top edge confining water against spilling and also having a bottom below said top edge and establishing a significant depth well in excess of the maximum depth to which hogs will immerse their snouts in water;   hog operated and regulated feed and water supplies for depositing feed and water into the bunk, each having lever actuator means extending downwardly to the bottom of said bunk, and   at least one of said regulated feed and water supplies being operable to feed diminishing amounts of feed or water through actuation of said lever means as the level of feed and water in said bunk rises to a predetermined level above the bottom of said bunk.   
     
     
       10. The apparatus of claim 9 in which the water supply includes a valve connected to a source of water, the valve is actuated by a downwardly depending lever means extending into proximity to the bottom of the bunk and said valve is vertically adjustable shield means to adjustably extend into the bunk to a desired, predetermined water level in said bunk. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of claim 9 in which the feed supply includes a hopper having opposite walls disposed above the bunk, an adjustable elongate discharge slot formed intermediate the lower ends of said walls, feed dispensing means, normally disposed within said slot and operable in parallelism on top of one of said walls and actuable to an outwardly, forwardly extending position of said slot through actuation of said lever means, said slot having a height dimension equal to the thickness of the dispensing means and a predetermined diameter of the feed to be dispensed, and the lever means being operable to dispense lesser amounts of feed as the depth of the materials in the bunk increases. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of claim 9 in which a plurality of lever means are disposed in laterally spaced relationship along the length of the bunk. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the lever means for dispensing water are disposed interemediate and adjacent to lever means for dispensing feed.